Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said last week, prior to Sandy Hook, "the time is right" to debate gun control legislation, although he did not call for specific legislation. This past weekend, Democratic Senate President John Morse said lawmakers need to balance people's right to own firearms with public safety.
"Maybe we do end up doing nothing but I do think the time has come to where we need to have a conversation so that we can stop talking about burying our children," he said.

The shooter at Sandy Hook used a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle with magazines containing 30 rounds as his main weapon, according to the Connecticut State Police.

A Connecticut proposal in March 2011 would have made it a felony to possess magazines with more than 10 bullets and require owners to surrender them to law enforcement or remove them from the state. Opponents sent more than 30,000 e-mails and letters to state lawmakers as part of a campaign organized by the NRA and other gun advocates. The legislation failed.

A recent panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals out of New York said the requirement that people demonstrate a special need to carry a concealed weapon does not violate the Constitution.

Northwestern University law professor Eugene Kontrovich said the difference between the Second and Seventh Circuits over what it means to bear arms could be enough to persuade the Supreme Court to intervene.

About Matt

An analysis of crime and punishment from the perspective of a former prosecutor and current criminal justice practitioner.
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